I see London, I see France...Part One

For those who don't know, Henry and I went on a European trip extravaganza for about two weeks and went to London, Paris, The Black Forest, and Rome.

We got back about a week ago and have so many stories to tell. In the next few posts, I am going to try to focus on London and then move onto to Paris without leaving out the details. So before you read on, you must understand that on our trip, Henry and I spent the most time in London, England.

We did this for two reasons:
1.) Henry really wanted to go to London
2.) I am slightly obsessed with London since I studied there in the fall of 2002. (Shout out to the Daniel House.)

Anyways, on the flight to London, I knew that I wanted to be completely refreshed, so I had travel sickness medicine, sleeping medicine, ear plugs, neck pillow, and an eye cover so I could sleep on the plane and get up and go once we landed. Henry, on the other hand, decided to stay awake and before the day was over, had been awake for 36 hours. Henry on no sleep kind of reminds me of 7 th grader who has spend the night playing video games. You know, glazed eyes, random twitching, and trying to fall asleep standing up.

Well, during our 36 hour day we went to a bunch of London landmarks and the first one we went to was the Daniel House. For those who don't know, that is the house in London where the Samford students are housed and nothing about it has changed. Henry took a few photos of me at the house, but another landmark that Henry took a lot of pictures of were....cars.

Just one of the many landmarks Henry found interesting.

My dad even commented on these car pictures and wondered why we took so many. Like I said, if you know Henry, you understand why he took pictures of cars. After the Daniel House, we walked around London and saw many of the traditional landmarks, grabbed some food, and then went back to the hotel.

On the next day, Henry and I went to one of my favorite museums and that was the Imperial War Museum. I know it is kind of a "dark" place for me to like, but it has three really neat exhibits that just give me chills whenever I go in them.

1.) World War II Blitzkrieg reenactment shelter- Basically, you go inside this bomb shelter and a whole story plays out in front of you...including the shaking of the shelter when the bombs hit.

2.) World War I Trench walk through model- You walk through this trench that has everything that you would find in a trench, including the mustrady gas smell.

3.) Holocaust Exhibit- Amazing and bone-chilling every time. Whenever I walk out of it, it makes me so thankful that we were of part of WWII and that we stood up to this evil.

Henry enjoyed it as well, but he also found some things that I wouldn't necessarily get into..like the real tanks! Henry got really excited about this one because "my grandfather rode in one of these when he was riding through Germany!"

I didn't want my picture taken in front of the tank, because frankly, I have not interest in them, but I did want my picture taken in front of this little piece of the Berlin Wall. The message on it is especially relevant to my life right now.

After we left the museum, we ended up walking around London once again and made a mental note to come back to Buckingham palace when there was a changing of the guard. This is before the crowd showed up...

Then this video shows when the crowd showed up and just how many people were there. We really didn't get a very good view of the guard changing, but we did get an excellent view of the band that played before the guard changed.

During this scene, Henry and I are having the following conversation that was not recorded.

Henry: Marj, do they do this EVERY day?

Me: Yeah, I think so.

Henry: But why??? Such a waste of money. The U.S. would never waste money like that.

Me: Well, people enjoy it.

Henry: Ah, so they only do it for the tourists...to draw in money.

Me: NO! The British are just like this, they are very ceremonial.

Henry: If you say so...but I think it is for the tourists.

Me: You'll see, once this trip is over you will understand.

Once the band got inside of the gate, their tune changed and Henry won his argument. Can anyone guess what movie this song is from???

Yep, the theme of Mission Impossible. I was left speechless. I really could not explain why they were playing this song except for the delight of the tourists...which they were delighted. I think would have even threw money through the bars if there was a way to collect it.

I guess things have changed since I have last been to London.

Moving on, Henry and I took a day trip to Windsor, Oxford, and Stonehenge and below are some of the pictures of Windsor.

The castle is beautiful and it makes me wish that I had a "country" home that looked like this.

Well, I will add more later, apparantly I can only add so many photos on blogger, but I will leave you with this.

We went to Stonehenge on the summer solstice and the druids were out in full force.

Very Interesting.

Harry Potter Chaos

I am going to talk about my trip a little bit out of order because I want to start with some of the craziest things that happened first and work my way towards the not so surprising stuff.



One of the last stops on our European Extravaganza was Rome and while we were walking around the city, we stumbled into a "mall" that had hundreds of people waiting near Harry Potter posters. Now, using my deductive reasoning, I figured out that these people were waiting for actors that were promoting the movie and I was absolutely right. I verified my conclusion by talking to the Vodaphone salesgirl who informed me that three major characters from the movie were coming.



For those who know me, you all know that I am Harry Potter enthusiast, so I insisted to Henry that we stay. He agreed and so we joined the masses and started to wait. Now, I did not know which 3 major characters would appear, but I used my deductive reasoning skills again and I just assumed that it would be the THREE major characters from the movie.



Well, I was wrong, it was actually the twins and the wierd blonde hair girl that can see dead things and they walked past me in such a blur that only Henry could get a really great picture.





It was kind of neat...for like 3 seconds, but then all of those Harry Potter crazed teenagers just couldn't quite contain themselves. They started to scream...and push. Here is the video before things got a little...um, hairy.

Once this video was over, Henry decided to pull us out of the crowd because it was pressing on us so much that we almost fell over. Apparantly, it got so bad that the Harry Potter actors had to be escorted away early and the fans almost rioted. Check out this article...you will need to scroll down to the bottom to read what is relevant.

http://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/video-evanna-lynch-phelps-twins-apologise-for-rome-harry-potter-event-crisis-82433/

Anyways, I know I a little bit of a crazy Harry Potter fan, but I had nothing on these fans.

Thank goodenss Twilight isn't out yet, or Henry and I might not have made it back.

Where Did my Muse Go?

Well, it happened again...the blog has been neglected and it has been several months since I have last written on it.

However, I have a really good reason and that has been I have been completely uninspired to write.

Where did this lack of inspiration come from?

It didn't come from a busy life or having nothing to write about because I have tons to write about.

It came from a big life change that came suddenly and completely threw me for a loop.

I. am. moving. to. Memphis.

Away from my family.

Away from my friends.

Away from my job that I love and have spent six years making a second home.

Away from a life that I have built with my husband.

Away from everything that I love.

Now, this isn't bad news, it is quite exciting, but it just kind of came out of nowhere and smacked me out of my comfort zone.

Wait, smacked isn't the right word...more like yanked.

Anyways, with this big life change looming in the future, my inspiration to celebrate the life I am living now by writing about it on the blog just disappeared.

All I could think about was that I am moving in July and all of things that I had to do to get ready for it.

Now, Henry and I move next weekend, mostly everything is done, and my inspiration is slowly coming back.

One of the main reasons my inspiration is coming back is because I finally acknowledged this move for what it is actually is...meant to be.

I am meant to move to Memphis.

I will move to a new family.

I will move to new friends.

I will move to a job that I will make into a second home.

I will move to build a new life with my husband.

Instead of having only one place that I will love, I will have two and both will be equal parts of me.

It took a lot to get me to this point, but now I am excited to see what doors God will open for me.

And my inspiration is slowly starting to come back, so I am sure more things will happen in my life besides more entries on the blog.

Now, on a completely unrelated note, Henry and I have been quite busy and that includes a trip to Europe. Here are some pictures to tie everyone over until I write about it.

Eiffel Tower

The Daniel House

Where's the Beef?

That is the catch phrase in my household this week.

If you can recall an earlier post, I pledged that I would start a Vegetarian diet this past Sunday and try out this lifestyle for one week.

Well, I am currently on Day #4 and am ready to report about my preparations, challenges, and successions on this new diet.

Preparations
With Henry and I, we usually plan what we are going to eat during the week and then buy groceries to fit into that. However, there are times when the food runs short and we have to make up a meal on the spot.

This could be any of the following:

1.) Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
2.)Sandwiches and Progresso Soup
3.) Chips and Salsa
4.) Bowls of Cereal
5.) Take Out

Usually, I opt for number 5 because I really don't like any of the other things for dinner and my go to place is Five Guys. (An amazing burger place.)

Now, being a Vegetarian for a week, if this situation occured, then it would greatly increase my chances of "cheating".

Therefore, I planned for the whole week and even looked up some tasty Vegetarian Recipes.

Some things that were on my grocery list that are normaly not there is the list below:

1.) Eat Smart (A Deli Meat that contains no meat. Just Veggies and Protien)
2.) Tofu Firmly Packed
3.)Leeks
4.) Goat Cheese
5.)Red and Green Peppers
6.)Eggplant
7.) Artichoke

I used these items for Eggplant and Artichoke White Lasagna and Tofu Fajitas.

This leads me to challenges and successions.

Challenges
Cooking Eggplant and Tofu is really hard.

I had to fry the Eggplant in Olive Oil and I kept burning the slices or dropping them on the floor. (Who knew they were so slippery?)

Tofu is a very strange substance that requires draining, patting, and careful cooking when it is being sauted. I would hate to see was soft tofu is like when you cook it in a pan because my kept crumbling into small pieces.

However, the hardest thing is to get Henry to eat this food.

Do I really need to explain this one? :)

Seriously, Henry has been really cute about trying the recipes and always eats at least one plate before he fixes a sandwich.

Successions
Never having cooked eggplant or tofu, I must say that I did an ok job fixing both recipes and they actually tasted good.

I will definintely cook them again.

Another success is how I feel.

I was pleasantly surprised to notice how much more energy I have this week as compared to last week.

I am not sleepy after lunch, I don't need as much sleep at night, and I wake up ready to go in the morning.

WHO KNEW???

I will say that my diet hasn't been strictly veggies/fruits the whole time.

I have also eaten Boca burgers, Kashi Microwave Meals, and the Eat Smart Luncheon "Meat", but I really notice a difference in how I feel.

Well, that is all I have to report right now, but I will let you know how the weekend goes.

Henry is betting that I can't make it to Sunday and is even going to tempt me by cooking Veal Marsala Saturday night.

We will just see about that!

The Ghost of Valentine's Past

So, I never really thought of myself as a hopeless romantic, but there is something about Valentine's Day that I adore.

Maybe it's that the day's colors are pink and read.

Maybe it's because chocolate is the usual gift and everyone knows how much I adore chocolate.

But, what I really think I love about this day is that it is a day where love is celebrated and I just really love that idea. (No Pun Intended.)

Our lives can get so busy and it is way too easy to just go through life without pausing and really taking time to appreciate someone that you love in your life.

Valentine's Day is an answer to that.

So every year, I try to find the perfect card and the perfect gift and try to show that special someone how I feel.

However, I didn't meet my husband until I was 23, so needless to say that I have had other Valentine's in my life, which leads me to the purpose of this blog.

The other part that I like about Valentine's Day is that it brings back wonderful memories of other people in my life that deeply cared for me.

I really treasure these moments in my heart because they were creative and plastered a smile on my face that lasted the whole day.

Now, if there is ever a moment in my life where I become a Scrooge about Valentine's Day and refuse to "share the love", I know which five moments the Ghost of Valentine's Past will show me to melt my heart.


5.) When I was growing up, my mom would always make a huge deal about any holiday and that included Valentine's Day. She would usually give us candy and balloons, but for a few years she gave us a "walking" balloon. They were huge, fun, and would scare my sister and I at night.

4.) During my senior year at Samford, I participated in Step Sing and unfortunately, one of the practice dates fell on Valentine's Day. I went to practice and when I came to my apartment, I found a dozen beautiful roses sitting on my desk with a lovely note. To this day, I still blush when I think about it.

3.) Last year, I received numerous Valentine's gifts from my students. Now my students cannot afford very much, so they get most of their gifts from the Walgreen's down the street which means that they are not of the highest quality. One of my more musically gifted students gave me a plastic rose that lights up and plays a song when you press a button on its stem. She told me that every time she hears that song in her music class, that it reminds me of her.

That rose still sits on my desk and I play the song when I am having a bad day.

2.) These next two gifts I combined into one because they fall into the "homemade" category. One student made me a card out of construction paper and it was BEAUTIFUL. It was cut into a bird and would flap its wings when you opened it. Gorgeous.

The other, was a poem, that I keep in my binder and read it when I need a "pick-me-up". It is laminated and I will never lose it.

1.) My number one Valentine's Day moment is reserved for my one-and-only, Henry. You see, Henry and I met on February 8th and our 2nd date was on Valentine's Day. A lot of pressure for a new couple, right?

Well, he showed up with a single red rose and took me to the Tin Roof and we had a blast. One of the best Valentine's Day dates I have ever had.

Needless to say, I do not think I will ever become a Scrooge, but for those who are skeptical about this day, hopefully my trip down memory lane will inspire to get passed the "greeting cards just invented this holiday" and just show someone that you care.

It is not too late to change the future!

Now to my Valentine, I love you and Happy Valentine's Day!

And the answer is...

So if you have read in an earlier post called, "Vegan, Vegetarian, or None of The Above," then you know that I have had a very important choice in front of me and I have made my decision.

My decision is...VEGETARTIAN!

I will start this Sunday(Feburary 20th) and will take this week to gather more recipes and prepare for my one week without meat.

Also, when I finally embark on the meatless journey, I will document day by day to let everyone know how it is going and to tell you about the food choices for the day.

Maybe before I start, I should get one of these? The book sounds pretty interesting...

Snow Days, Smoe Days..Can't we just have spring already!

This is a picture of the last blizzard that knocked me out of school for three days.
Henry left work early (because of a doctor's appointment), but he came to play with me at a park that is near our apartment.

You can tell that Henry plays...um, a little rough.


Anyways, the same blizzard that hit my dear friend Ashley in Oklahoma has made its way to good ole Nashville, Tennessee.


Now, in anticipation of this storm, my school let out 2 hours early and my kids left saying that they will see me on Monday.


Sigh. They are probably right and it looks like I have some more snow days coming my way.


Now, some of you are thinking, isn't that a good thing?

Don't you get paid for just staying at home and keeping warm?

Well, that might true, but there are numerous reasons why these snow days are starting to become more painful than joyful.

1.) We make up the days in the summer. I do NOT want to be in school during June.

2.) Kids are wild when they come back. After a few days of no schedule and staying up late, they are pretty wound up when they stroll back into the classroom. It is the equivalent of getting the kids back after a break and reminding them that the school year ends in a few months, not a few weeks.

3.)I am the only one who gets snow days! I don't have a lot of teacher friends, so when I get a snow day, I am just sitting by myself at the apartment. Again, not so bad, but this will be my ninth snow day! It gets kind of boring and there is nothing left in my apartment to organize.

As I look out the window and gazing on the inches of snow that are collecting in my apartment's front yard, it looks like I will be out tomorrow.

I am so over the snow and am ready for spring.

I mean at this point, I would rather deal with Tornado warnings than Winter Advisory Warnings!!

Vegan, Vegetarian, or none of the above?

You know, I have never been a big Oprah fan, but since she is retiring (or whatever she is calling it since she is opening her own network.) I have decided to record all of her shows and pick and choose the ones I thought were pretty interesting.

So far, I have watched several episodes that grabbed my attention, such as...

1.) The Super Model Episode-This chronicled the lives of supermodels that were in thier 40's and beyond and they still looked more gorgeous and tinier than me. Sigh...
2.) The police officer from the O.J. Simpson Trial-I can understand why so many people disliked him...ick.
3.) All of the education stuff that was related to Waiting for Superman-Charter Schools here we come.
4.) American Idol judges-Awesome, Steven Tyler is my fave.
5.) The Episode where the whole audience was full of men who were molested-That one made me cry like a baby.
6.) And countless others that are too embaressing to mention on the blog

However, the one that actually made me consider changing part of my life was the episode that featured the Oprah staff committing to one week of a vegan lifestyle.

Of course, the episode was about more than 300 something people going Vegan, it was more about where our food comes from and what exactly we are putting in our bodies. It featured a beef processing plant (which was disturbing) and chronicled the lives of people who embarked on this challenge.

It was soo sooo interesting!

Watching these people struggle with making choices about what they eat from day to day made me contemplate about my daily food choices. I mean, I think of myself of eating pretty healthy (this is because I lived with 3 very calorie conscious people in college which were Jen, Dana, and Ellen), but I could definitely be doing more. I mean let's be honest...I don't exactly eat healthy from day to day and temptation usually gets the best of me.

Some of you are probably thinking, what do you mean temptation?

Don't you work in a school?

The land of no vending machines and not a drop of soda to be found?

That is partially true, but you all are forgetting one thing...I am teacher and if there is one thing that is continuosly given to educators to show that they are doing a "good" job, it is food.

For example, just this week I have been offered the following:
1.) Cookies with a rasberry center
2.)Panera Bagels with cream cheese
3.) Coffee and regular creamer/sugar
4.)Candy, Candy, Candy
5.) Chocolate Cake Balls
6.) Doughnuts

Now have some of these things everyday, the poundage can add up. Eat a lot of these things because you are stressed to the max and then you understand why some teachers are so overweight. So there is definintely some room for me to make healither choices.


Also, not to mention, that um, I will be turning the big 3-0 in like two years so it is time for me to "up" the healthy food since I definitely do not burn calories like I used too.

Anyways, back to the Oprah episode...

Watching these people change the foods they eat inspired me to make a change on my own.

I have decided to embark on some healthier choices and I am toying with the idea of "becoming" a Vegan or Vegetarian for one week (Like on the Oprah show.) After having lunch with my parents, I turned to Henry to inform him of my idea and he just laughed.

He said that if I did this, then he would eat steak during the same week to just tempt me even more. I just laughed and said, thanks for the support, but that he knew better. I am the one that does the majority of the cooking so if I eat tofu then he would too.

Or he would starve.

He just laughed. :)

I know he is kidding, but he does kind of have a point. Is it worth it to truly embrace this lifestyle for just one week?

I mean, I really don't have an interest in completely changing my food lifestyle ( I do enjoy meat, eggs and cheese), but why spend a few extra bucks at whole foods to get what I need? Why look up new recipes that I might never use again? Why put in this extra effort?

Well, I came up with some answers to those questions...such as...I might actually like this lifestyle better than my current one.

Maybe it will help me lose weight?
Maybe it might make me feel better than what I feel right now?
Maybe it will help me run the half marathon better? (I am running the one in Nashville in April.)

And then the big maybe...

Maybe I might actually like the food better?

So, I have decided to embark on this food journey, but I haven't made my decision between Vegan and Vegetarian.

They both have their positives and negatives and I will take a few days to decide.

Right now, I will do some research and figure out which one would be easier to bring in to my busy lifestyle.

Also, if any of my readers would like to try this with me...I am open to the idea.

Whenever I start it, I will chronicle it on the blog because I am sure it will be very entertaining and interesting to read.

Anyways, I will end with this web link that I found when I was researching Vegan vs. Vegetarian.

It is recipe for Vegan Lasagna and it has gotten some great reviews!

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2666

Door Decorating Contest

Guess what contest is around the corner...

That's right...it is door decorating time!

In case you haven't figured out, the decorations must be associated with reading and guess who has won two years in a row for the 7th grade....

I love this time of year. :)

FYI, my students design the door and do the work (I just give them the time and the supplies), but I would love to hear ideas from the audience.

Anybody have any suggestions?

New Year's Resolution

Well, I would like to say that haven't written on the blog because I have this extremely busy life, but unfortunately that just isn't true.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am definitely busy, but the main reason that I didn't write on the blog is that I felt like I didn't have anything to talk about.

I mean, I don't have any kids, I have a pretty typical job, and nothing really out of the ordinary happens to me...at least that is what I thought.

Numerous people have pointed out to me that my life seems pretty atypical at times and I always thought that just wasn't true. It wasn't until my husband went to the hospital for the 3rd time and I was sitting in the hospital that I started to realize that it was true. I kinda lead a life that would be interesting to read about.

For example, at work, I have a student that leaves random gifts on my desk without leaving a note about who it is from.

I have recieved the following: several apples, an orange, a poem (about me being an awesome teacher), and a Christmas ornament. I truly have no idea who leaves me these gifts and I am not even sure if it is from one student.

Furthermore, this is the only year that this is happened, but I do know where the idea is stemmed from...

In one of my class periods, one of my students asked in old cartoons, that there is a lot of fruit on a teacher's desk. I explained that students would bring a teacher gifts and fruit would be an cheap, but thoughtful way to let a teacher know you care. Then, BOOM! The next day I have an orchard on my desk, but I NEVER saw any student put it there.

Definately, atypical.

Another example, my husband's unexplainable illness that puts him in the hospital for a few days where he recieves IV antibiotics and then he is fine. Since last March, my husband (who is extremely healthy) has been put in the hospital THREE times for the same disease and the doctors have no idea how it keeps happening.

He is fine, but it is definately strange.

Last, but not least....Henry and I might not have a family (yet), but we definately have a social life.

This past weekend, Henry and I attended Affair to Care which is a benefit that is associated with Vanderbilt's Children's Hospital. It was a blast and there were several memorable moments. Dinner at Sunset Grill with Hap and Jamie, Dancing the night away, yummy sweets, and having my picture taken with Hap for the Nashville Scene, who informed the photographer that the names in the picture should read Mr. and Mrs. Porter. (Sigh...)

So, in summary, it looks like I have an interesting life and I just need to overcome the procrastination and just write.

So I will end with this story from today which shows just how atypical my life can be.

Today, I had a student come to visit me from my first year of teaching. She should be a senior in high school, but she isn't. Currently, she is being "homeschooled", has a child, and is married.

After school, she came by and gave me this huge hug and I was completely shocked. Now, I wasn't about the choices she made, but I was shocked that she HUGGED me.

You see, when I had her in class, she I hated me.

I really mean that...she despised me and my class. Now, the reason that she rebelled so much against me is because I wouldn't let her slide by with mediocrity or escape class to go to the nurse/guidance/whatever place she could think of. I really tried to show her that she could be more than just her circumstances, but I never felt I truly succeeded. When she entered 8th grade, she never came back to visit (like most of my 8th graders do) and avoided me anytime she saw me, so I just sighed and hoped that someone else will help her make the right choices.

Fast forward almost 6 years...and here she is...giving me a hug and telling me about all the books she remembered from my class and that she really did like me. I asked her why she came back (because I haven't seen or heard from her for 6 years) and she said that she was thinking about me.

Wow. Thinking about ME. She hasn't crossed my mind for years and here she is, in front of my room, because she missed me.

I guess you never really know about the impact you can have on someone's life.

Anyways, back to my point...I have realized that my life isn't atypical and that it is really quite extraordinary. Now, it is up to me to just share it, so here is hoping for no more procrastination and that you don't wait a year to here from this blog again. :)